Thomas co ties be



@tui-tch gratta utwt @ffii/zc.

THOMAS C`OURSR,'OF BURLINGTON, IOWA. vLettere Patent No. 70,170, flat-cd October 29, 1867.

IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE..

'ro ALL wnon I'r MAY coneau-N:

Be it known that I, TIIMAS COURSER, of Burlington, in the county of Des Moines, and State of Iowa, have invented a new and improved Washing Machine; and Ido hereby declare that thc following is av full, clear, and

exact description thereof, rcferencebeing had te the accompanying drawings, making a part of this spccificru.

tion, in which.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section taken centrally through the machine, showing the plunger about to make its forward stroke.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the same parts, showing theplunger in the position it takes at the completion of its forward stroke.

Figure 3 is a' plan view of the machine, with the several parts arranged in the positions indicated in fic. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The first part of my invention consists in the combination of an oscillating and reciprocating plunger, with a reciprocating concave, which is held up to the plunger-head during its forward or acting stroke, by means of springs, said parts being so constructed and operated as to raise the articles above the surface of the Water in the wash-box, then squeeze them and turn them over at every forward stroke of'said plunger, as will be hereinafter described. Y Y

It also consists in combining with a plunger, which receives its motions from a crank-shaft, and cleanses articles by squeezing and turning them, a rectilinear reciprocating wash-board, arranged beneath a prcssurcboard having a movable or hinged cover, for the purpose of cleansing articles by rubbing them, as will be hereinafter described.

i To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will describe its construction :and operation. 5 In the accompanying drawings, A represents an oblong rectangular wash-box, which may be made of any suitable capacity, and which is mounted upon legs, as shown in the drawing, fig. 1. In one end of this box Ais a 4rectilinear reciprocating box, B, supported upon the bottom of the wash-box, and caused to slide forward and backward, as will be hereinafter' described. The box B consists of two vertical side boards, connected together at top by a narrow board, a, and at its back by a perforated plate, a', through which water is allowed to circu' late freely. This box Bis designed for receiving a concave plate, b, which is suitably perforated to allow water to tlowfreely through it, and which rises from a point near the bottom of thc wash-box to a point just below v the covering-board a, as shown in gs. 1 and '2. From the sides ofthe box B pins e c project, and pass through slots d cl formed by the guides cl d. To thc ends of said pins springs e e are connected, which holdthe box B in the position indicated in igjl, when not acted upon by the plunger C. The pins and guides referred to keep thc box B down in place, and prevent it from tilting during the operation of cleansing articles placed between the plunger and concave. The plunger C'consists of a slatted head applied to two longitudinal parallel arms, which latter are connected to the crank-shaft D, as shown in figs. 1, 2, and 3. The plunger-head Works between the sides of the box B upon the concavepb, and it is kept down in place by means oflledgesff, onthe inclined edges ofthe sides of said box, beneath which ledges the rounded extremities of the topmo'st slat ofthe plunger head project. As the crank-shaft D is rotated, the plunger-head will be moved forward and upward to the position indicated in fig. 2, carrying before it the articles put between it and the concave. This forward and upward movement ofthe plunger will raise the articles above the surface ofthe water in the washbox, and at the same time press the box B backward. Just before thc plunger completes its forward stroke the cranks shaft will raise its rear ends or arms, and cause it to forcibly compress the articles against the concave bed b. The-plunger then rccedcs and allows the springs e c vvto return the box B to the position shown in fig. 1, at the same time allowing the articles to roll back into the water, to be again forced upward and compressed or squeezed by the plunger in its next forward stroke. Between the plungenarms is a rock-shaft, g, to which a rod, g', is secured, which extends back, and is secured rigidly to a rock-shaft, t, which is pivoted between the longitudinal side bars of a4 wash-board, E. This wash-board is constructed with an upper corrugated rubbing 4 surface, covered, if desirable, with sheet met-alito protect it from rapid wear. The waslnboard E slides longitudinally upon thcibottom of the wash-box A, and receives its motions from the plunger C, as described. -Above this wash-board is a pressure-board, for holdingthe articles down upon it during the operation of cleansing them, which board consists of a stationary portion, G, anda hinged or movableportion, G. By raising one end of the hinged portion of the pressure-board, articles can be introduced between it and the rubbing surface of the wash-board.

The object of employing the two cleansing devices above described in one wash-box is to complete, by a rubbing action, the work which cannot be completely done by a compressing and squeezing action. Very much of the dirt can be removed from the articles bythe operation ofthe plunger upon them, which will in no manner injure the finest fabric, after which the articles are subjected to the rubbing surfaces of the wash-board to complete the work of cleansing. For some purposes the plunger and its concave will answer the purpose. For some articles the wash-board will be used alone, but for very filthy articles both the plunger and wash-board will be required. For these reasons both are combined in one machine, and so as to receive motion from one crank-shaft.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

.1. The combination of an elastic yielding box, B, carrying a concave, b, with a plunger-,0, which receives motion from a. crank-shaft, D, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a wash-boardLE, pressure-beard G Gf, and plunger` C, with the concave bed Ii arranged to op/crate substantially as described.

3. So constructing and arranging the plunger C, and combining it with a concaveibed, [1,'that the clothes V are raised out ofthe water and compressed at every forward stroke of said plunger, substantially as described.

THOMAS COURSER.

-lilitncsses:

M. E. GILLETTE, A. G. BARHYDT. 

